Guys, I'm not saying Michael Phelps is one of the most amazing creatures on earth but I AM saying Michael Phelps IS the most amazing creature on Earth.
Seriously.
The man is a MACHINE!!! I saw him win his second gold medal sunday and his third last night. OMG Im not fucking kidding you.....you would have thought Mikey was my kid brother the way I cheered (BTW - He very well could be my kid brother considering he is a solid 10 months younger than myself. I can't begin to get started on THAT). The race last night was outstanding and he was a solid 2 seconds ahead of everyone else in the race which is a huge, ginormous lead when you consider these are the best 8 swimmers in the world there with him. Most races are won with not even 7/10 of a second to spare. Guys - seriously. Fantastic. Have I mentioned that every race he's won he has also broke the world record - ones set my himself previously. COME ON PEOPLE!!!!
There was no video of that race but here he is with his teammates Jason Lezak, Garrett Weber-Gale, & Cullen Jones. In fact, the real star of this race was Lezak.
Onto Gymnastics -
I watched the team preliminaries on Sunday and I have to say, I was kind of disappointed. The girls did pretty good but you could tell they were nervous, and understandably so. They had just been watching these freaks of nature:
who are those sweet, very flexible children?", I hear you asking. Why, that is the CHINESE OLYMPIC TEAM!!!!! I truly think there is something fishy going on - they are beyond tiny and look like my 13 year old cousin. I am not the only one who thinks this.... phooey on you china. But damnit! If they aren't fun to watch! Their 40lbs bodies fly!!!!!
I do have hope for the US team, and that hope is named Shawn Johnson:
she is 16 years old, from des moines, and she KILLS it everytime!!! Her teammate Nastia is pretty fantastic too but that Shawnie -- she'll show the Chinese what's up.
In conclusion, I really thought I would have to fake my love of the Olympics you guys. But guess what!! I'm not!!! It's true, real, and passionate. LOVE!!!
Dear John Edwards -
I loved you, you know. I met you, I fell for your ideas and your stories and charm. I have many buttons with your name on it.
Now, I find out you're just a huge asshole. Maybe even MORE of an asshole than most politicians. I don't much care for you anymore -- I don't much care for anyone who cheats on their terminally ill wife who is the mother of their two little children.
You've made me really, truly dislike and not trust any politician.
"Screw you, Edwards."
I now would like to wear that on a button.
turns out my love for you is NOT unconditional,
Kelly
It hasn't been an easy month.
(and that's the understatement of the year)
but it's better. it's getting there. I'm feeling tinges of happiness in my heart -- it's all very hopeful.
and through this all I reconnected with a song that stirs my soul.
in my most broken moments I would sing this song to myself --
"I told you to be patient
I told you to be fineI told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?"
It isn't a song that reflects my feelings towards someone else, or a situation with someone else, or a story with someone else. Its a song that reflected me. my inner dialogue. I believe when people are broken, hurt, let down, and devastated our minds split into two: the broken down part and the part that is trying SO HARD to move on. It's a constant battle, at least to me. I feel this song captured it perfectly.
Then I read an interview today with Justin Vernon , the magical man behind Bon Iver, where he said pretty much exactly what I thought: its a song to himself, trying to move on and be real again but being overcome with self-accusations and negativity. A song to the part of him that he battles everyday to stay afloat.
perfection.
I bet I listened to 'Skinny Love' 4-6 times a day this whole month, it continues to give me goosebumps. Then I saw this performance doubled them. Raw. Wonderful. Song of the Year: 2008. (don't you dare tell me how awe inspiring it was to see him at Pitchfork, JP! I can only, sadly, imagine.)
it's happening.
one of my many life-accepting therapies is starting today, in fact - it already has. What is it, you ask?
that's right - the olympics, bitches!
I haven't cared/watched/cared about these big games since 1996. Celine Dion sang "Power of the Dream", the games were in Atlanta, and I was obsessed with The Magnificent 7 - Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden andJaycie Phelps. I watched them religiously and I may have even cried a single tear when poor, broken Kerri Strug landed that vault.
Well, Celine Dion sang again at the opening ceremonies and I feel that means its time to have my American pride back -- lord knows its impossible to feel positive about anything else going on in this country.
look how handsome they look. I have to be honest, I would have much rather have seen some of the project runway fashions from this week there instead, namely these two:
I wish they would have designed some wicked leotards...
anyway!
What I'm going to watch: Gynmastics (duh), the swimmers, and maybe hand ball -- I'm intrigued.
Let's do this, Beijing!!
time to ease my soul in self-reflection, stupid internet findings, and social commentary.
I'm full of goals, time to get started on them!
I took my love and I took it down
Climbed a mountain and turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Till the landslide brought it down
Oh, mirror in the sky - What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know, I don't know
Well, I've been afraid of changing
Because I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder, even children get older
And I'm getting older, too
So, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
The landslide will bring it down
summer joys edition!
Simply Apple -
the best damn juice I've ever had, and my greatest grocery find of the summer. Made with JUST APPLES (no water, no extra sugar - just frickin' apples!) its simply amazing. Semi-hard to find but well worth the search and the extra bones.
Wall-E
I love pixar movies, and this one takes the cake. I am positive the world would be a better place if everyone just watched 'WALL-E'. It's epically beautiful, I am so grateful to have grown up with basic cartoon classics so I can really appreciate how magical these movies really are. It also has showtunes and jeff garlin, is heartbreakingly adorable, and has an overall glow of love. See it ASAP.
Red Shoes
The world seems lighter, brighter, and happier when you wear red shoes. flats, heels, sandals, keds, manolo blahnik - no worries what the brand, and what the occasion. Slip some on, and your soul will sing!
Conversations with a 2.5 yr old
Jimmy just told me that he found bunnies in his bed, and he shooed them out with his 'cycle' and then counted to 10, skipping numbers 4-8. He also constantly tells me: i like your shirt, kelly. i like your shoeses, kelly. i like your curvy hair, kelly. He's fantastic - always full of joy and hilarity.
Skirts
sexy, practical, dainty, and wholesome all at the same time and INSTANT summer joy. I rarely wear pants in the summer, and when I decide to put SOMETHING on my bottom half, it's usually a skirt. Sometimes I pair red shows with my black full skirt like today and shit gets REAL crazy. Extra nice - when a breeze goes up your skirt, and the hand of a good looking chum you've been seeing. (not nice at all - the hand of a creepy stranger.)
Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale
It's delicious.
My newfound cooking skills
well, friends, I am amazing myself and my roommate with my new martha stewart/paula dean touch. I am so excited about this - I love to cook but I never had the patience to do it well and to hone the craft. It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me at the stove...and I'm feelin' good.
Fireworks
...and lot's of 'um! Imagine my amazed surprise when I stepped into my backyard on Saturday night and was able to see the field club fireworks perfectly. Loud, bright, sparkling...joy joy joy!
and lastly... My People.
I would be nothing if I couldn't share my favorite things with my favorite people. I love, adore, and am thankful for every one of them.
Sorry - I took a bit of a hiatus, not just on blogging mind you but with pretty much everything. Then I realized I needed to get with the program, stop watching 'scrubs' 5 hours a day and DO something again and here is the start of something.... What's been going on since I last checked in?
+Q has left for NYC and (surprise) has no intention of coming back. I totally called it! It was through Q that I met a lot of my friends and acquaintances, and she become one of the greatest friends a lady could ask for. I think her leaving might have been what actually pushed me into the black hole filled with 'scrubs' and frozen carrots - I have a hard time with long-distance friendships, plus I miss her like cray cray - but she is searching for happiness and her own path and if she has to do it in New York than I am happy for her. I am turning it around and hoping that it inspires me to do the same for myself. Speaking of....
+ I'm ready for a new job. I adore Jimmy and it's an easy job that I do enjoy but I am ready for something different. Working for kids 45 hours a week is a bit draining but can also be MISERABLE if you hate your job and I don't want to get to that point, but I slowly see myself getting there. Once I start school this fall I think I am going to officially start looking for a job I'd enjoy and maybe (cross fingers) be around other adults!!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...
+ I'm learning how to cook, slowly but surely. I made homemade alfredo sauce for chicken bow-tie pasta extravaganza that I altered to be less horrid for you and it was fucking phenomenal. The roommate said it was one of the best sauces he'd ever had. I was/still am very pleased with myself! I want to start cooking one new meal every week - I think I can do it.
+ The big storm last Friday! It was crazy, wasn't it?!
We of course lost power but thankfully got it back on saturday. It said on the news some wouldn't have power until AT LEAST saturday - wowzerz. The month of June brought 3 power outages for my place (a fallen tress branch, a giant fuse break on our block, giant storm) and I can definitely say I no longer take electricity for granted, and I really need to find some things to do with my time that aren't dependent on wether or not I have electricity! Maybe I'll begin making my own jewelry...
+ Family visit -- saving for an entry all of it's own.
+Books I've read and adore:
+ Albums I've listened to and adore:
+ youtube videos of a lifetime:
(the corny music of the last one makes it even better)
+okay, that's a good monthly wrap up, eh?
peace, love, and sunshine!
Last fall, I had the most glorifying, joyous, spiritual experience of my life when I saw the Arcade Fire in Kansas City. Now, I've been really lucky to see some amazing bands live and have been blown away and in awe of my luck in getting to see them - Belle & Sebastian, Jens Lekman, The New Pornographers, The Faint, The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Broken Social Scene, A Kevin Drew "secret" show, Of Montreal, Rilo Kiley, etc. etc. I have said it before, many times to good 'ole JP, I just need to stop even counting the arcade fire as a show - as great and as moved as I've been at shows since, nothing compares. It was an experience.
The power of music can't really be disputed - songs to bring you up at your lowest, songs to keep you company when you're feeling like shit and don't want to feel better yet, songs to make you dance, songs to make you cry, songs to help you fall asleep, songs to wake you up. I feel like this band really and truly encompasses all of these things, many times in the same song. During the show, the members face would be shown in a close-up on the screens surrounding the stage. The intensity in their eyes, excitement, feeling in their faces - if their music hadn't drawn you in already that would have been the sinker. The way they played music was so passionate, I hadn't even seen anything like it and I doubt I ever will.
Anyway, it's been almost since then that I've felt the need to really listen to any of their albums, but last week I cam across this on another blog:
**that and sing me spanish techno, but doesn't that go without saying?
The summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college I was living in Toulon. A friend picked me up and we went to Joe's Crab Shack for a big night in the Central Illinois. We sipped on virgin daiquiris and ate our food. I didn't like seafood and hadn't ever tried Shrimp before but my friend made me try some of her fried shrimp...I decided "hey! I'm 19! Why not! Live Life!" I ended up eating half of her shrimp - so delicious, so succulent, so tasty.
Fast-forward 30 minutes later - trying to finish my burger but giggling way too much. I walked into the wall of the bathroom so hard it left a goose egg and I laughed about it for 10 minutes. My friend told me my cheeks were turning red and was pretty much my virgin daiquiri was a bit sluttier than intended. Missy tried to explain to my mom when she dropped me off that it was a mistake, we weren't drinking, but I think my mom may not have been exactly happy.
"why didn'th you ever leth uth eath thrimp, mom? it'th delithiouth!!" I slurred, tongue swelling, as I stumbled into my room , my mom looked at me as what was happening started to make complete sense:
"I'm allergic to it."
apparently, so was I. As drunk and happy as the shrimp made me feel the night before I woke up only a few hours later to one of the worst experiences of my life. I couldn't go to work, I couldn't even take my face out of the toilet for a solid 12 hours. A trip to the doctor confirmed what I had fear - the delicious shrimp I ate the night before was forever destined to be my Kryptonite.
Fast foward 5 years later - Metro Community College. Great Plains Theatre Conference Gala. JP. Me. Class acts and Academy Award winners. An amazing, tasty looking spread for the taking - 75% of it shellfish/seafood based.
sad. very sad. I was hungry. I mean...the quasadilla probably was never sharing a plate with crab or shrimp, right? there is NO WAY a fork that picked up a shrimp could have possibly touched a piece of cheese I ate right next to the giant plate of kryptonite, right? Wrong.
2 glasses of wine, and some ingested shellfish later JP left me sitting in a chair as a normal, slightly overwhelmed girl and coming back she found a finger snapping, head sideways, can't stand straight drunkard. And it just got worse - ever throw up on the side of the interstate? Tell a complete stranger how many popcorn jelly beans you'd managed to find? Fall asleep on the door right after you pound on it to let you in? I met some good people that night - don't get me wrong - but around 1am my drunken stupor started to get ugly, and by 6am it was downright hideous. I spent another day, face first in the potty, realized this was not the worlds worst hangover but a good ole' fashioned poisoning, and was to wonder - why did I do it?
You can ask all of my friends - I tell everyone about my allergy, ask people to keep it away, ask waiters and others about foods to make sure there isn't even crustacean oils in anything. I made a mistake.
I was shellfished at the Gala.
(btw - LOVE galas!! overwhelming but makes you feel kind of important....I may soon throw my own gala. hmmm)
